U.S. Rep. Brian Mast introduces a new piece of legislation called the Harmful Algal Blooms Solutions Act on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2017 at a news conference at American Custom Yachts in Stuart. The bill will reward those who develop technology that could clean up algae in large bodies of water. "There's not much good about harmful algal blooms," Mast said, but believes this bill will positively influence not only Martin County, but other areas in the country that suffers from algae blooms. (Photo: LEAH VOSS/TCPALM)Buy Photo

The series was produced in-house without using any money from taxpayers or the Republican's Nov. 6 re-election campaign, Mast spokesman Brad Stewart said.

The goal is to educate lawmakers and government officials in Washington and Tallahassee about the economic, environmental and public health issues caused by Lake Okeechobee discharges to the St. Lucie River, he said.

"There's clearly a disconnect between the people in Washington, D.C., and the people in Tallahassee with the people who are actually forced to live with the decisions being made by people who don't live there," Stewart said. "What we wanted to do is show the human toll and human impact of the discharge decisions being made in Washington and the water quality decisions being made in Tallahassee."

Local effects

The series will feature business owners who have closed, reduced hours or otherwise lost money because of the algae, Stewart said.

A bloom that covered 90 percent of the lake as of July 3 carried toxic algae to the St. Lucie River four days after discharges began June 1.

"People are rightly extremely concerned that this is going to be even worse than it was in 2016," Stewart said.

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In the summer of 2016, discharges from Lake Okeechobee caused widespread toxic algae blooms in the St. Lucie River.
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The Army Corps of Engineers discharges excess lake water east to the St. Lucie River and west to the Caloosahatchee River to prevent a Herbert Hoover Dike breach that could flood communities south of the lake.

Excess water historically flowed south to the Everglades, but now is rerouted so it doesn't flood the Everglades Agricultural Area, populated predominately by sugar farms.

Mast has argued discharges are a public health risk for Treasure Coast residents.

More: As algae threat grows, Mast demands answers from Army Corps

"The point we want to make through this series and through our communication with the Army Corps is that you're impacting human safety by discharging," Stewart said. "Why is the human safety in other areas being superseded by the discharges?"